The relation of change in hostility and sociability during childhood to substance use in mid adolescence

In a cohort-sequential longitudinal study (N = 1075), we related change in children’s hostility and sociability assessed from 1st to 8th grade to their use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana assessed from 9th to 12th grade. Children who were more hostile at 1st grade, and had higher rates of growth of hostility, used more of all three substances at 9th grade, and those with higher initial levels of hostility increased their use of cigarettes and marijuana from 9th to 12th grade. Children who were more sociable at 1st grade used more alcohol at 9th grade. These findings demonstrate the significance of individual differences in the development of personality traits for the prediction of later substance use and have implications for prevention.